Munhall to step down from charter school in June

Thursday

May 24, 2007 at 12:01 AMMay 24, 2007 at 3:14 AM

After five years at the helm, South Shore Charter Public School executive director Michael Munhall announced last week he intends to resign as the school’s chief executive at the end of the school year.

In a letter sent to the school’s Board of Trustees, Munhall said he was happy with the progress he’d seen the school make since taking over as its executive director in 2002.

“I have felt a great sense of satisfaction from the work I have done here with many of the trustees, teachers, parents, administrators and students,” Munhall wrote in the letter. “I believe that I leave the school a better place than it was in 2002.”

Matt Dunning

In a letter sent to the school’s Board of Trustees, Munhall said he was happy with the progress he’d seen the school make since taking over as its executive director in 2002.

“I have felt a great sense of satisfaction from the work I have done here with many of the trustees, teachers, parents, administrators and students,” Munhall wrote in the letter. “I believe that I leave the school a better place than it was in 2002.”

In his letter, Munhall stated it had become increasingly apparent to him in the last year that the school was in need of a leader with more of a financial expertise than he could offer.

“The leadership the school needs is in the financial and fundraising areas,” Munhall stated. “Those are not my areas of expertise. I do not wish to be an impediment to the school reaching its fullest potential in those critical areas.”

Munhall also stated in the letter that “an exciting new opportunity has presented itself,” though he did not specify what it might be.

Munhall could not be reached for comment before the Mariner went to press Wednesday afternoon.

During his tenure as executive director, Munhall oversaw the charter school’s move from Hull to Assinippi Industrial Park in Norwell. He also steered the school through a 50 percent increase in its annual enrollment, increased the school’s number of faculty members and helped refine the school’s curriculum.

“It is with regret that the Board of Trustees accepts [Munhall’s] resignation,” trustees chairman Robert Gass wrote in an open letter to the school community. “The school’s growth in enrollment, diversity and curricular strength has helped make our school a much sought after educational destination for South Shore families. His oversight of the move from Hull to Norwell assured us the stability necessary for us to move forward.”

“The board is thankful for all of Mike’s efforts for the school and wishes him well as he moves on to his next endeavors,” Gass added in the letter.

Gass stated that the trustees have begun working on a procedure for selecting Munhall’s replacement. That process, he stated, would be outlined at the trustees’ next meeting May 29.

Munhall’s relationship with the school community was not always perfect. Last summer, he came under heavy criticism from several parents after he created a Myspace.com account and posted about a dozen photographs he'd taken of various subjects on the site, including young men pictured in athletic and modeling poses.

Many of the parents considered the photos inappropriate.

After members of the school's board of trustees reviewed the photographs, and interviewed teachers and staff members at the school in September, the board voted unanimously to take no further action regarding the matter.

In his letter to the trustees, Munhall indicated he would remain with the school until the end of June, and would “help with the transition to new leadership.”